Children of Catharsis
by Yazoo - Pirate Lord of Jamaica
Summary: Catharsis is the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, especially through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music. How a group of teens cope with school and home life, and learn to grow up faster than they had planned. 3 OCs used.
1. Intro

ok, this might seem familiar to some people, so lets get some things straight.

1. this is a story i have on my first account (Formerly Fortexine, now Yazoo1218), put here because i dont want my dad reading this.

2. it's still a joint project with Akamori-Chan, and as we speak she's writing up the fourth chapter.

names were changed, and things were changed

enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

A small girl cried silently on the front stoop of the old run-down apartment, a bloody nose and a large red hand mark across her cheek. The poor dear looked to be about six years old and was of small build, a bit on the skinny side from being deprived of food so often. She had red cat-like eyes and short red hair, which was cut in a slant by her left ear. A black bandage covered where her right eye was supposed to be; it was mauled in an accident with a rabid dog, and her parents didn't bother getting it properly fixed. She was dressed in dreadful rags, for her abusive parents did not feel the need to get her anything better to wear.

Across the street from a small window, a little boy about the same age as the girl watched her sadly, feeling a sense of overwhelming pity on her fill his mind. He had a shock of red hair similar to the color of the girl's and brilliant green eyes like emeralds. He knew he had to do something; he couldn't stand to watch this poor girl suffer. He ran out of his small brownstone apartment to the little girl and said in a small breathless voice, "Hi…I've come…to get you outta…here….m'kay?" The little girl looked up at him with miserable eyes and silently stood up and hurried across the street before her father came for her daily beat down. She looked up breathlessly at her six year old knight in shining armor and said in German, "Vielen Dank."

"Huh? Is that girl talk or somethin'? 'Cause I don't usually talk to girls. I hear the have cooties. But you seemed nice and really really sad, so I figured I should help ya! My name's Axel! What's you're name?"

The little girl looked at the chatty red head and gave him a small smile. In her best English, she managed to whisper, "My… name is Tzeitle."

* * *

_Ten Years Later_

"Epsilon, get up! You're supposed to help out at the shooting range today, remember?"

Epsilon stirred in her four poster bed, crying hysterically in her head because of her having to leave the comfort of her nice, fluffy bed to go to a cold shooting range with her foster father.

About ten years ago, after the bold six year old martyr saved her from an abusive home, she was taken to the local orphanage, where she was adopted by a very caring man named Saïx Tunstall and his boyfriend, Xigbar Ferdinand, who was the owner of the most popular shooting range this side of Midgar. Yes, they were a gay couple, but they were the best candidates for Epsilon, who was named Tzeitle at the time. Saïx had chosen to rename Tzeitle when the couple adopted her, to try and leave behind that sad and abusive memory of her former life. This idea started a whole disagreement between Saïx and Xigbar; Saïx had wanted to name her Forte, because of her fiery red hair and her loud personality, while Xigbar had wanted to name her Epsilon, because of her tomboyish-ness and her punk style. Each compensated by calling her the name they both wanted, since she opted for both. Epsilon stayed best friends with Axel and became great friends with his year older brother, Reno. Over the years, the friendship with Reno had grown into a bit of a crush, but only Axel Blauvelt, and her other friends from her high school, Demyx Botoph, Zexion Clauson, Godwin, Ivy, Roxas Channing, and Vexen Emerson, the owner of her favorite local coffee shop who she had become very friendly with.

About half an hour later, Epsilon ran down the stairs of her marble and large mansion into their high-tech kitchen; having a criminal defense attorney and a successful business owner certainly had its perks. And being in a caring household had changed Epsilon's appearance significantly; her once awkwardly cut hair, the result of a violent scissor attack by her mother for no reason at all, had been cut into somewhat of a Mohawk similar to that of Naima Mora's, but it was dyed black at the tips. Her mauled eye had been replaced by a robotic one, capable of becoming a pair of infrared goggles and a computer at the mere thought of it. Today, she had thrown together a pair of patched jeans, a pair of combat boots, and her favorite bones shirt that Saïx had bought for her earlier that week. "Ok, I'm ready, Xiggy!" Epsilon had been allowed to call her fathers by their first names, and she treated them more like best friends most of the time than parents.

"Geez, what the bloody hell took you so long? I woke you up a half hour ago!" Xigbar yelled, pretending to be annoyed.

"Yeah, well, unlike you, I like to shower in the mornings."

"Ooh, burn!" Saïx commented jokingly, entering the kitchen wearing a black robe over a pair of pajama pants.

"Lookin' sexy, Saïx." Epsilon said teasingly at her scantly dressed foster father.

"Damn straight, biotch."

"Ok, enough of the chit-chat," Xigbar interrupted, "We gotta head out. We'll grab a coffee on the way, Epsilon," Xigbar added, seeing the scandalized face of his daughter; it was a known fact that Epsilon could not live through a day without her favorite caffeinated drink at some point in the day.

"Yay!"

"You wanna invite some friends to come too?" Saïx asked his daughter, knowing full-well what the answer would be.

"Hells yeah! I'll call Godwin and Ivy, be right back!" And with that, Epsilon took off at high speed to the nearest phone and dialed the number for Godwin…

* * *

Godwin Cajes sat silently in a leather armchair by the fireplace, reading a book for a report for his Language Arts class. His father, Xemnas, sat across from him, reading through stacks of bills and bank reports. Godwin's father worked as a Quality Assurance manager at the Bank of America in the town of Niebleheim, and made a fair amount of money doing so. Godwin got along fairly well with his father since his mother, Marguerite, died, but Xemnas often worked late, sometimes not coming home for days at a time. Other than that, Godwin loved his father, as a father and son should. 

Godwin stopped reading momentarily and stared into the fire, his dark brown eyes reflecting the merrily crackling flames. He had short messy black hair, which he was thankful for, since his father had long, spiky gray hair despite his age of 41, had a heavyset build on him, and was about five foot seven. The only thing he inherited from his father was his dark skin tone.

The pair jumped at the sudden loud ring of the phone from the other room. "Uh, I'll get it," Godwin said shakily, trying to get over the shock of the sudden sharp sound. Xemnas nodded to show approval, not even looking up from his work.

"Hello?"

"Goodwin Cajones! It's Epsilon!"

"After that intro, I kinda figured."

"Ha! I'm only screwin' with you, dude! Say, are you free today?"

"Uh, I've got a book to finish…"

"They all die the way the little Indian boys die in the nursery rhyme. Now you're done."

"Uh…ok…I guess I'm free now, huh?"

"You guess? You GUESS?! Well, yeah you pretty much are!"

"Ok then…so, why did you call?"

"Xigbar is taking me to the shooting range to help out, and Saïx said I could bring two friends."

"Uhuh…"

"Axel and Reno are in Edge with their parents for the weekend for some crappy convention that they wanted to get out of but couldn't, Roxas isn't allowed to come because his parents feel that it is unsafe…"

"Gee, I wonder why? I mean, it's only a SHOOTING RANGE!"

"Shut up! It makes us a mucho amount of money, as you see! And don't interrupt me!"

"Fine…"

"Anyways, Demyx has guitar practice and is grounded anyway for swimming in his pool too long and forgetting to do his chores, and Zexion and Lexaus freak out at loud noises so, that a give in." Lexaus was Zexion's older exercise obsessed brother, and they both get nervous at constant loud sound in fear of getting shot themselves.

"So let me guess, you want me to come with you?"

"Yesh! You and Ivy"

"Hm, ok, let me ask…"

Godwin placed the phone gently on the table and went back into the living room to find his dad still doing paperwork.

"Dad?"

"Yes?" Xemnas replied in a deep voice, not even bothering to look up from his work.

"Epsilon Tunstall is on the phone, she wants to know if I could go help out at the shooting range with her, her dad, and Ivy. Can I go?"

Xemnas finally looked up from his papers at his son, thinking about whether or not to let him go.

"Did you finish your book?"

"Yeah."

"It's fine with me. While your there, tell Epsilon and her fathers I said hi."

"Ok" Godwin made sure to mask his excitement as he went back to the phone.

"Epsilon?"

"Yasashii dake no kotoba nara ima no bokuha iyase nai hateshi naku tsuduku tatakai ni kono mi wo subete sasageru dake!"

"What the he-…"

"REDEMPTION!!!"

"Epsi-…?"

"REDEMPTION!!!!"

"EPSILON!"

"Meep! Sorry!"

"My dad said I could go."

"Great! Now get ready in about 10 minutes, got it?"

"Mmhmm."

"Good! See ya in a bit! Byezeez!"

"Bye."

Godwin placed the phone down gently back on to the receiver and thought momentarily about the other person accompanying them. Having Epsilon and Ivy in one place together never turned out good. He sighed wearily at the thought and ran his fingers through his hair. This was gonna be one hell of a long day.

* * *

Ivy Nagato ran hurriedly up the stairs of her large apartment to get dressed. Her best friend, Epsilon, had just invited her and Godwin to help her and her father out at their shooting range. As she quickly brushed her teeth, she took a long stare at herself in the mirror. Ivy was about 14 years old, the youngest out of Epsilon's friends and by far the most hyper. She had messy shoulder-length black hair streaked with light blue, brown eyes, and was of average build, about five foot two, the shortest between Epsilon, who was about five foot 6 and Godwin, but still able to be taller than Roxas. She had hastily thrown on a pair of light jeans, a black shirt, and a sweater-like trench coat. Ivy finished up quickly in the bathroom and bolted down the stairs towards the door, figuring that she could get a coffee on the way to Epsilon's place. But before she could turn the knob, she heard the stern voice of her father, Marluxia, calling her. 

"And where are you going?"

_Goddammit! Busted…_Ivy thought dejectedly, turning to face her father.

"Epsilon asked me if I wanted to help her and her dad at their shooting range today. Godwin's gonna go too, and I want just about to head over to her place." Ivy explained very quickly, eager to leave her home and spend a day in a place where she could have tons of fun with her best friends and Epsilon's totally awesome foster father, Xigbar.

"And you didn't bother asking me first?"

"Well, I kinda figured that you would have said yes anyway, since you like Epsilon so much and you're best friends with Xigbar and Saïx since high school and college, so I kinda didn't bother."

"Well, you could at least eat something first!" Marluxia said with a playful smirk. It amused him to no end how hyper and single minded his daughter was, a reason why he loved her so. He walked into the kitchen to grab a small container of yogurt for Ivy, because he knew too damn well that she would forget to hit the coffee shop on her way to Epsilon's. As he came back from the kitchen, he found his daughter sitting on the suede couch reading some manga that he had bought her for her 14'th birthday, what was it…Full Metal Chemist? Whatever, she was reading it and that was all that mattered. "Here's a yogurt, you'll be eating with Epsilon I assume?"

"Yeah, dad, and seriously, I gotta run. See ya!" And with that, she gave her father a quick peck on the cheek and darted out the front door.

"Be careful! and tell Epsilon and her fathers I said hello!"

"Got it, dad! See you this evening!"

Marluxia watched Ivy with amusement as she sprinted down the stairs and out the window saw her sprint towards Epsilon's mansion, and turned back into the apartment to make his morning breakfast.


	2. Shooting Ranges and Window Jumping

**Chapter 2**

Jeanne ran to Epsilon's mansion. It wasn't really far; just about 3 or 4 blocks. It was on the way that the fourteen-year-old mentally hit herself—she could've at least taken about a minute to get her rollerblades. Oh well, she was already close. In the distance, she saw Xigbar and Epsilon, greeting Godwin as he came their way.

"OI!!!!" she shouted. Their heads turned and Epsilon waved her arms frantically.

"Oh! Better open the gate for her." Xigbar said. The mansion was surrounded by a seven foot two inch iron gate. The entrance had two pillars at the sides, its surface protruding out by four inches. As the man tried to walk over to open the gate, Epsilon pulled on his arm, making him stop. He turned back to look at her and she just smiled, pointing at the girl's nearing figure. They all watched as the girl jumped on and kicked off at the surface of the gate, using it to get herself in a higher position at the pillar, where she kicked against its surface and got higher on the gate. She continued to do that until she finally went over the gate and landed on the ground.

The black-haired girl looked at the two men, who were gaping at her, "What?"

"Nothing…Anyway, you all set?" Xigbar asked

"Yup!" the girls chimed while Godwin nodded

"Good. Now let's go."

* * *

"Okay, kiddies there's one rule and one rule only." Xiggy said, "Just don't shoot anyone."

"Hey Godwin." Epsilon called in a sing-song voice

"What?" he turned around and came face to face with the end of a rifle, "HOLY SHIT, MAN!" He ran and hid behind the fourteen-year-old.

"You do know that you're taller than me, right?"

"…Ah, crap…"

Epsilon laughed, "Aw, only screwin' with ya, dude! I wouldn't really shoot you!" Godwin sighed in relief. The red-haired girl looked at Jeanne, who was leaning on her rifle, and smirked, "But I bet Ivy would." His eyes widened as he looked at the black/slightly blue-haired girl, who was giving him an evil smile. Her left hand was holding the gun. The brown-eyed teen shrieked a sissy shriek and hid behind Xigbar.

"Godwin, are you sure the doctors gave you the right gender?" Jeanne asked

"Shut up!" he shouted at her while Epsilon was laughing

"Epsilon…Ivy…" Xigbar said in a warning tone

"Aw…"

"Yes! Thank you!" Godwin nearly shouted

"If you two can't even come up with the proper insult, then don't say it!" the man continued

"…Thanks a lot Mr. Ferdinand…And here I thought you were actually defending me…"

"Alright, everyone, enough loitering. Get to work!"

"'Kay!"

* * *

During the Day…

"Hey Epsilon, what's this?" Godwin asked, holding up a small handgun.

"That's a pistol, it's used in most firearm murder cases. It's a semi-automatic gun, meaning you have to click it a bunch of times to shoot multiple times."

"Oh…what's this?" the taller boy asked again, this time holding up a long, slender gun.

"That's a shotgun, it's mainly used for hunting large animals and for people who want to commit suicide or murder in the bloodiest way. That's also a semi-automatic"

"I see….what's this?"

Epsilon looked away from exchanging comical banter with an elderly man to look at what Godwin was referring to.

"…That's the coffee machine, Godwin."

"I knew that!"

"Right…" Epsilon turned back to the old man she was chatting with, who had in fact heard the little exchange.

"That boy shouldn't be fiddling with guns of that caliber, he'll be a menace to someone as pretty as you!" the man complained, adding the little beauty compliment Epsilon received so often from men that always got on her nerves.

"Pff, Godwin's a menace to society, taking a gun away from him won't change that."

Epsilon could hear Jeanne laughing hysterically at what Epsilon had said, while Godwin looked curiously between the two as he examined a small electrical device.

"No, Godwin don't touch that it's a-!"

ZAP

"ACCCKKK!!!"

**thud**

"Tazer…" Epsilon finished, trying her hardest to suppress a giggle.

* * *

Later…

The group went back to Epsilon's house. Godwin called his father and asked if he could hang out for a bit. Xemnas gave the affirmative.

"Whoo-hoo! Godwin gets to stay!" Epsilon said, taking back her cell phone. Jeanne then saw Epsilon dialing a number.

"Who're you calling? Your darling love, Reno?"

"Shut up, Ivy." Epsilon said, putting it on speakerphone. A few seconds of ringing went by before they heard someone answer.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey loser. How's the torture?" Epsilon asked.

"_You're not helping Epsilon." _Axel's voice replied. The girl chuckled.

"Hey Goodwin, wanna talk to him?" she asked.

"STOP CALLING ME GOODWIN!!!!" he shouted.

"_Calm down Godwin… Geez, Reno went deaf and he's twenty feet away from me!" _

Epsilon looked at Jeanne, who shook her head. You see, no one really knows Jeanne that well except for Godwin and Epsilon. She's been used to keeping to herself during her years in elementary and middle school. Epsilon's friends never saw her, except for Axel and Demyx, but those two only caught a small glimpse of her in middle school. Also, the two had dubbed her creepy and weird and decided to stay away. So our little Ivy doesn't talk to any of them when Epsilon calls and she hides away when they come by.

"Hey, not our fault that the boy's got some lungs." The red-eyed teen said, watching Jeanne go upstairs. Usually, the brown-eyed girl would go up to her room and play guitar. Sometimes she calls the fourteen-year-old 'Demyx' since they share almost exactly the same interests in almost everything, especially music and video games.

"_But please, just stop calling him that…For the sake of our hearing." _

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So how's it going?"

"_Ugh…It's so boring I could die…" _they heard some noises before another voice came on.

"_Epsilon? That you?" _

"Reno! What's up; you in pain and agony yet?"

"_Pain, agony and soo much more…Anyway, I take it Godwin's there, too?" _

"Yo." He greeted.

"_Yeah…So anyway, what's going on over there? Anything exciting? Interesting? Funny? Anything?"_

"Well, I almost shot Godwin."

From the other line, Reno burst out laughing. They heard Axel asking what was so funny and Reno told him. Soon both brothers were in hysterics.

"_Oi, is Demy-dork ungrounded yet?" _

"Hm…Let's find out…Hold on." She put the two on hold and dialed Demyx's number.

"_Talk to me." _A voice said, as Epsilon put it on joint speak.

"_You finally got your phone back?" _Axel asked.

"_Axel? I thought Epsilon called." _

"Joint speak."

"_Oh…Anyway, yeah. I just didn't swim for two days, did a few extra chores and attended my practices. My mom was happy and I'm off the hook." _

"Wow…Nice job…"

"Man, Demyx, you sure know how to do these things." Godwin said.

"_Godwin? You over Epsilon's?" _

"Yeah."

"_Hey, did you guys finish that book report for-?" _

"They all die the way the little Indian boys did in the rhyme." The red-haired girl, black-haired boy and blond musician answered Axel simultaneously

"……_Okay then…" _

"Y'know, you could've just asked your brother." Godwin said, "He had the same teacher."

"…_Dammit! Why didn't I think of that?" _

"Because you can't think?" Epsilon asked

"_Shut. Up!" _

She and the dark-brown-eyed boy laughed. It was then that Demyx said, _"Hey Epsilon, if you want, I can come over." _

…Uh-oh…

"Uh, sure. Come by in ten minutes." She said. _That should give Ivy enough time to get outta here…_

"_Okay!" _they heard a click. A tell-tale sign that he hung up

"_Well, gotta go face more torture. See ya when we get back from Edge." _

Another click. A few seconds passed by before…

"IVY!!!!! DEMYX IS COMING HERE IN 10 MINUTES!!!!!" the faint guitar chord stopped short before you heard the rushing footsteps. Jeanne appeared on the top of the stairwell and shouted,

"WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!"

"Hurry up! You gotta use your ninja skills and get outta here!"

"…Ninja skills?" Godwin questioned as the girls panicked

"Okay, okay…umumumumum………Back door!" Epsilon exclaimed

"Screw the back door, I'm going out the window!" the brown-eyed girl cried, running over to the nearest window in the back.

"Ivy, are you crazy!? That window is, like, two stories high!" Godwin exclaimed. If there's one thing Epsilon knew, it was that Ivy was stubborn when it comes to hiding and stealth. The girl opened the window and jumped right out.

"IVY!!!!" the two rushed to the window and looked out. Ivy was falling down and landed onto one of the six-foot high pillars that surrounded the fence every eight feet. She jumped down from there and proceeded to run out of the property, using the utmost stealth and speed.

* * *

Demyx Botoph made his way to his friend Epsilon's house. He had already gotten out of punishment, but just in case, had asked his mother if he could go hang out. She gave him the affirmative and off he went. In the distance, he saw Epsilon's huge mansion. He also saw someone running out from the same area.

_Wow, she looks vaguely familiar…_

He watched her rush by on the other side of the road. Once she passed by, it clicked.

_HOLY CRAP! IT WAS THAT CREEPY KID FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL!!!!!! _

Demyx looked at her retreating figure; she just looked so different that he almost didn't recognize her! He noted that she got highlights, ditched the glasses and the braces and her body got a more feminine shape to it. But he really didn't care about the body. He was occupied with something else. Looking back forward, he continued his way to Epsilon's house.


	3. Killer Ballerinas, Coffee, and Rape

**Chapter 3**

"Do you think she made it out ok?"

"Well, lets see, she jumped out THE FUCKING WINDOW!"

Epsilon and Godwin stood at the windowsill where their best friend, Ivy, had just jumped out of. The two teens didn't notice that Xigbar and Saïx had come into the room with Demyx, the three of them all watching the two teens stare out the window. It was when Demyx sneezed that Epsilon and Godwin noticed them.

"OH MY GOD! Oh wait….it's just you three…"

"Hello to you too!" Saïx said sarcastically, "Where's Ivy?"

"Jumped out the window, Dad."

"Oh…okay…"

"Hi Demyx," Godwin said to his friend with a small wave of his tanned hand.

"Holla," Demyx replied, adding a slight ghetto accent to annoy Epsilon, who at the sound of the word rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Demyx, for the love of God and Led Zeppelin, stop acting gangster."

Demyx replied to his female friend's comment with a raspberry.

"Sorry to interrupt this heartwarming moment," Xigbar began, "but Godwin's dad called a few minutes ago, he said he's gonna pick him up in a few minutes."

A collective "Damn it!" was heard from all three teens. Saïx shook his head and chuckled slightly as he listened to his daughter complain.

"We were supposed to go to the coffee shop and see Vexen! I need my fix!"

"Gods, Epsilon, you sound like a drug addict in need of crack," Godwin commented jokingly.

"I NEED MY COFFEE, DAMN IT!"

Not wanting to hear Epsilon's ten minute long rant about the absolute joys of coffee, he tried to compromise.

"Well why don't you ask Xemnas if he can come along with you three?"

The teens looked at each other before nodding in agreement. Saïx nodded in approval and ushered his husband out of the room to give the teenagers some privacy (not like _that_, you freaking perverts --;)

* * *

Outside the room, Xigbar turned to Saïx, staring at him in a mild mixture of disbelief and amusement.

"How is it that you're able to avoid rants like that?" the eye patched man asked.

"I live with you two" Saïx answered, enjoying the scandalized reaction from Xigbar. The powder-blue haired man gave the other a swift kiss on the lips before saying, "If I didn't life with you two, life would be so much more uneventful." This statement made the gray streaked man smile and he pulled the other into another kiss. Saïx turned his head to slightly deepen the kiss, and his hands snaked their way around Xigbar's neck.

"YOU! PEOPLE! STOP MAKING OUT OUTSIDE MY ROOM!" Epsilon angrily screamed; playing the violin and learning how to hunt and how to become an assassin (thanks to Ivy's father, Marluxia, and his paranoia) had sharpened her sense of hearing significantly, so when she yelled at her fathers, Godwin and Demyx stared at her wondering how she knew they were out there in the first place.

"You're not nice!" Xigbar called back mockingly. This caused Epsilon to open the door and whispered evilly, "How about this; either make out somewhere else, or I'll quit the hit man lessons and become a regular ballerina instead of a killer one." It was a little known fact that Epsilon took dance lessons at Alvin Ailey American Dance School and that she had been training to become a killer ballerina lawyer when she got older. It was also known that Xigbar wanted her to possibly become a hit man (or in her case, hit **woman**…or whatever…) if she could not get a career in dance or law, and hearing her threaten to quit her shooting lessons scared the living crap out of him.

"No!!! SAÏX!"

"What?"

"We go NOW!"

And with that, Xigbar hastily dragged his poor husband down the hall into their bedroom. Epsilon laughed maniacally as she retreated back into her room to Godwin and Demyx.

* * *

"I find it absolutely amazing that you have such control over your parents like that," Godwin commented with amusement as Epsilon came back into the room, "my dad has me whipped like a slave"

"Well, your dad's more strict than mine," Epsilon replied, "and as for Demyx, well, he's treated like a dog over there"

"I'll say!" the blond teen exclaimed, causing Epsilon and Godwin to laugh at him, "I swear, one wrong move and they're on my ass like white on rice."

"Ha! Poor Demy-dork," Epsilon laughed. She heard a soft ring of the doorbell from downstairs. The red-eyed teen got up and dragged her friends out of the room and down the hall, where they raced with Xigbar and Saïx down the circular grand staircase to the door. Getting there first, Epsilon swung open the door.

* * *

"XEMNAS!"

"Why, hi Epsi-ACK!!"

Xemnas's greeting was cut short by Epsilon's massive glomp onto him. He laughed, kind of expecting Epsilon's surprise greeting.

"Nice to see you too. Where's Godwin?"

"I think we lost him on the stairs," Epsilon began, "Hold on. GOODWIN!"

"Oh wow…" Xemnas mused, chuckling, "Ah, Xigbar, Saïx, how've you two been?"

"Great! I won the Jack Hammer murder trial this week!" Saïx exclaimed as Xigbar gave the gray-haired man a 'manly' hug.

"Ah, yes, I heard, congratulations. You always had a knack for finding obscure details and using them to your advantage." Xemnas said warmly. Saïx laughed a bit and tried to act modest, failing miserably.

"Hi dad." Godwin greeted robotically, Epsilon and Demyx following behind.

"Hey Godwin. Well, it was nice seeing you all again, especially you, Eps." Ah, Epsilon's nickname, how she loved it so…for some strange reason. Maybe it was because Xemnas said it, we shall never know.

"Haha, no problem! Hey, is it ok if we all run down to Vexen's coffee shop for a latte or something? You're definitely included, Xemnas, I'm paying!"

Xemnas considered for a moment before agreeing. "You coming too, guys?" Epsilon asked her fathers.

"No, you guys go ahead, but bring back two chai teas for us, please?" Xigbar begged; he had some paperwork to fill out, and he might need some coffee to keep him awake.

"Okay! Come _on_, before Vexen runs out of the good caramel for his macchiatos!" Epsilon rushed, pushing the two teens ad the gray-haired man out the door.

* * *

"Aww, Vexy's sick!!! DAMNIT!"

"Oh please, Eps, you can see him another time."

"Yeah, I guess so…"

The group sat at a small round table, sipping tea and (in Epsilon's case) coffee . The only girl finished her coffee first, and got up from her green armchair. "I'm gonna head to the bathroom, be right back."

"Don't get lost," Godwin joked.

"I come here every day, how can I?" Epsilon laughed.

* * *

The Mohawked teen made her way through the maze of chairs and tables towards the bathrooms. She walked in and made a quick check of her hair, which was her main intent. As she walked out, she was grabbed forcefully and dragged out the backdoor.

"Hey, what the hell, dude?!" Epsilon yelled, only to be answered with a hard smack to the face.

"Shut up if you don't want to be killed."

Epsilon gasped as she realized that her kidnapper had a switchblade in his hand. Unable to reach the small loaded pistol in her pocket, she was helpless. The man, who was significantly taller than the teen, viciously ripped off her sweatshirt, tearing it. The girl started to scream in fear, hoping that somebody would help her.

* * *

From the backseat of his parents' car, Reno heard a feminine scream outside his window nearby. Judging by the lowness of the pitch of the scream, he thought it sounded like Eps. Reno nudged his sleeping brother awake.

"Axel, wake up you douche, I think Epsilon's in trouble, I just heard a girl scream and it sounded like her."

Axel looked at his brother with sleepy eyes. "You're obsession over her, you know that?"

"Mom. Dad. Stop the car, I think my friend's in trouble."

"Reno!"

Axel looked at his brother as if he were insane. Did he seriously think that Epsilon just happened to be in trouble nearby? The red-headed brothers' parents pulled over anyway, despite Axel's thoughts. Reno jumped out of the car and sprinted towards the direction the scream had came from, his younger brother running close behind.

* * *

"Stop…please…!"

Epsilon's attacker kept feeling her up, touching her chest and ripping her clothes off at the same time. Epsilon was crying now, something she rarely ever did, as she was violated with each passing moment.

"OI! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?"

The man stopped touching her to look behind him, and his face collided with a lead pipe. The attacker fell to the ground unconscious, and Reno's outline stood out amidst the light of the streetlamps. The red-headed teen saw the state his female friend was in, and immediately gave her his sweatshirt. Epsilon sat on the concrete, crying in violation, fear, and embarrassment from crying in front of the guy she likes and not being smart enough to whip out her pistol and shoot the guy. As she sat crying, Reno put his arms around her and tried his best to comfort her. Axel rounded the corner to see his brother and his best friend sitting on the sidewalk, his best friend crying her eyes out.

_Oh my god, he was right!_ Axel thought in disbelief as he ran towards the two.

"What happened? Who the hell is that?!"

"Someone tried to rape her. Go get her bra, it's over there."

"HOLY SHIT."

As Axel ran to look for Epsilon's discarded underwear, Xemnas, Demyx, and Godwin ran out the backdoor to see the two.

"Oh my GOD, get a room you two!" Godwin cried angrily as he walked towards the pair, "Axel? Hey you guys are back! What are you looking for?"

"Eps' bra."

"WHAT?!"

"She was almost raped, Godwin, actually, she was raped," Reno explained sadly, still holding the shaking, crying girl in his arms.

A collective yell of, "WHAT?!" was heard from the three men as they ran over to try and comfort the girl. Xemnas, being the oldest one, took control.

"Reno, go back to your parents and have them drop you boys off with Xigbar and Saïx and tell them what happened. Godwin ,Demyx, tie that man up and put him in the backseat of the Jeep. Gag him and put that metal gate over the third row of seats. I'll be right there."

All four teenage boys did as they were told and soon Xemnas was left with a sobbing Epsilon.

"Come, deary, lets get you home."

The two walked silently towards the car, Xemnas rubbing her back comfortingly the whole way.


	4. Gifts, Pillow Fights and A Plan

Sorry about the lack of update on this! School's been a hassle, seriously. (-.-;) Anyway, hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

* * *

As that whole predicament was over and Epsilon was taken home, everything seemed to be better again…

"Jeanne!"

…So much for that…

At around this time, Marluxia and Jeanne would usually play video games together. The girl won as many times as she lost; hey, her dad was good at combat games. Anyway, the brunette walked into the living room, only to find his daughter collapsed on the floor, which lead to the current exclamation. He quickly ran over to his only child and cradled her in his arms, trying to wake her up.

"Jeanne? Jeanne, sweetie, wake up!"

Her eyes groggily opened. She sat up and quickly clutched her head, groaning in pain. He got up, picked up his child and briskly went to her bedroom. He set her down gently on her bed. This wasn't normal, for her to be this much in pain. Sure, she had been sickly, but that was almost years ago, when she had started middle school.

"Dad…" she choked out

"Ssh…Don't talk right now…" he said

"Dad…Eps…She was in danger……Please, check…on her…?"

Marluxia was hesitant but soon went to the kitchen to grab a hold of the nearest phone. Dialing the number, he waited and a few rings later, Xigbar picked up the phone.

"_Hello?" _

"Xigbar, it's Marluxia."

"_Hey! Marly! Haven't heard from you in a long time; call more often, will ya!?" _

He chuckled, "I try to though…But you know me, I need to get those papers graded and my lesson plan won't…well, plan itself."

"_Yeah, yeah, I know…Anyway, I'm sure that you had some other reason for calling." _

"You know me too well."

"_Alright, now, spill." _

"I actually called to check up on Epsilon…Was she in any danger at all today?"

"_Eps? Well…she got raped…" _

Marluxia was stunned, "Oh my god, is she okay?"

"_Yeah. Luckily, Reno—you still remember him?—was nearby and saved her in the nick of time." _

He sighed in relief, "That's good…"

"_But…how did you know that she was in danger…?" _

He looked back at the door of his daughter's room, "That's the thing…I found Jeanne on the floor, nearly passed out. When I took her to her room, she told me that Epsilon was in danger and to call to make sure she was okay…She still looks pained…"

"_Hm…You know, it may sound crazy but…I think Ivy's got a…a sort of 'gift' to sense the pain of people close to her…That ever happen with you before?" _

The blue-eyed parent thought for a moment. Now that he had mentioned it…

"I can recall…one instance…"

"_Well?"_

"It was…It was after her mother died…Do you recollect how sick she would get? We even had to take her to the hospital, remember? She didn't attend school for weeks…"

"_Yeah, I remember…Anyway, take it into consideration. After all, in this crazy little world of ours, anything can happen." _

"Yeah…I will…Thanks Xiggy."

"_Nah. Thank _you _for checking on Eps. Call again sometime in the near future, ya hear?" _

"I hear."

With that, he hung up the phone. His arm remained suspended in the air, with his hand still holding onto the phone. Thoughts resonated inside his head. Could she really have a gift? If it puts that much strain on her, could it even be considered as a 'gift'? Sighing, his arm fell back to his side again. Right now, he had to take care of his daughter. As he walked down the hall back to Jeanne's room, he heard faint singing.

_Yoru no Machi de Futto  
Kimi wo Yonde ita  
Tooku Hanaretemo  
Kodoku wa Boku wo Toraenai _

_  
Mikata ga Iru to  
Kanjita Toki ni  
Daremo ga Kawaru  
Tsuyoku Naru Naru Naru Kara _

_  
Mienai Chikara wa Kibou wo iza Naru  
Mienai Chikara wa Kimi ga Kureta Sou sa  
Deai no Kiseki sa Kokoro ni Michiteku  
Mienai Chikara wa Kimi ga Kureta Yuuhi sa _

_  
Dokoka Bakusento  
Utsuru Deatta Hibi  
Sonna Genjitsu ni  
Nareteru Boku ga Soko ni Ita _

_  
Dakedo Sabishisa  
Wakashi Attara  
Hitomi wo Agete  
Mae wo Miru Miru Miru Kara _

_  
Kokoro no Chikara wa Yume Heno Kakehashi  
Kokoro no Chikara wa Nagare Saemo Kaete  
Neai wa Arata na Minaino Hajimari  
Kokoro no Chikara wa Kimi to Boku no Kizume sa _

_  
Mienai Chikara wa Kibou wo iza Naru  
Mienai Chikara wa Kimi ga Kureta Sou sa  
Deai no Kiseki sa Kokoro ni Michiteku  
Mienai Chikara wa Kimi ga Kureta Yuuhi sa_

It started to grow stronger with each word, becoming a little more edgy along the way. However, there was still a heavenly and sweet tone shadowed behind the rock-ish outer shell of the song. He smiled; it was as if she was listening to the conversation that he and Xigbar had ("Mienai Chikara" means "Unseen Power"). Marluxia then entered the room.

"Feeling any better?" he asked. She nodded

"Yeah. Can we still play video games?" she asked, "I feel like kicking you ass in Guilty Gear."

He laughed, "You say that after I beat you eight out of ten times yesterday?"

She jumped out of her bed and playfully pointed an accusing finger at him, "You overspammed 'gunflame' with Sol yesterday!"

"So? You overspam 'alpha blade' with Chipp every time you use him!"

Feeling very random, the young girl grabbed her pillow and took up Jam's stance. Amused, Marluxia put on a 'confused' look.

"What on Earth are you-?" Before he can finish, he was hit on the head by the dark blue pillow. He looked away and shook his head before grabbing another one of her pillow and hitting her back, a triumphant smirk creeping onto his face. He knew that she wouldn't give up that easily, so he prepared himself for the impending pillow war that was soon to commence. However, he couldn't help but think about his daughter's condition. She was back to normal and not feeling sick anymore, so that must mean Epsilon was feeling better as well. But he didn't have much time to think about that since he was getting pummeled by his fourteen-year-old.

&&&&&&&

Ding dong!

Marluxia headed over to the door and opened it. He was greeted by many people standing on the stoop of his apartment. He smiled as he saw the many faces of his (and Jeanne's) many friends.

"Yo!" Xigbar greeted as they all streamed inside the living room

"Marluxia, we haven't seen you in so long!" Siax exclaimed, "How are you? Xigbar said that Ivy wasn't feeling well when you called. Is she alright now?"

"Oh, she's—" he paused in his sentence as he grabbed a nearing figure, who had charged at him, and tossed it into the hallway. Jeanne, who was the figure, landed on her hands and did a sort of cartwheel to get back on her feet, pillow still in hand. Marluxia grabbed one of the pillows in the sofa and the battle resumed in front of the guests. They took their cues and cheered/watched with amusement.

"Oh yeah, she's feeling much, much better!" Xigbar exclaimed

Jeanne did an imitation of Chipp's 'alpha blade' and tried to trip her father by charging below, but he had jumped over her as she came under and simultaneously took her pillow. The man smirked triumphantly and started to pummel his child, Anji-Mito-style as she blocked with her arms.

"This is good training for you!" he shouted over the noise of the others

"You can say that again!"

Amidst the sparring, there was a knock at the door. Epsilon opened it.

"Yo Tidus."

"Hey Eps. What're you doing here?"

"Payin' a visit."

"Oh."

She let him in and as he walked inside, he called,

"Nagato-sensei! I'm………here…?"

The sight of his teacher having a pillow fight with a classmate (whom he had never really talked to) was something that you never would usually see. It was amusing, but very odd. Jeanne had successfully retrieved another pillow and the feathers were flying everywhere. Epsilon and Xigbar promptly joined the fight, challenging the two. The four were oblivious to the newcomer (save Epsilon, but she quickly dismissed of his presence and concentrated on the fight), but Godwin greeted his other friend, as did Xemnas.

"What…are they doing?" the blonde asked

"Don't worry; they're just sparring." Godwin said. He turned to the battling four and shouted over the battle cries, "Uh, guys!? Tidus is here!"

That got their attention. Xigbar, who had been balancing on one foot while trying to block the assault of the Nagatos, flailed his hands in order to keep himself up, but failed and fell to the floor. Xemnas chuckled as Epsion cackled hysterically. Jeanne, feeling uncomfortable with the presence of the new arrival (she's very shy), dropped the pillow and immediately ran away. Marluxia sighed and turned to his student

"You'll have to excuse her, Tidus…She's not exactly social except when it comes to her friends, who are only Epsilon and Godwin."

"It's alright. I understand." He said

"Hey, Mar, uh, what about your living room?" Xigbar asked. Marluxia looked around the room. Oh yeah, it's still covered in feathers, he thought.

"Do you want us to help you clean it up, Marluxia?" Siax asked. The man gave a grateful smile and nodded.

"Anything I can do to help, sensei?" Tidus asked

"Well, nothing here…But if you don't mind, can you check on Jeanne for me? You don't have to go inside; she usually leaves the door ajar, so you can just look through there." He said, "And if she's not there, check the backyard; she might be training."

The blonde nodded in understanding. He went down the hall and saw the room whose door was slightly open. Looking through the opening, he saw nothing. Silently opening the door enough so he can fit his head inside, he peered in. Nothing. So he went down to the glass doors where he saw the girl and an upright log that was sticking out of the ground. Ivy was directly in front of it and tapped the wood a bit, smiling. Tidus was confused about why she seemed pleased. She stepped back a few feet.

And the assault began.

She took up a stance and started to punch the log in several places, occasionally ducking and swerving to a different position as if it was an actual opponent who was delivering a blow. Sometimes she would land farther away from the log, but she had the speed to get back into her close range in a second. Ivy went for a roundhouse kick and then swerved to the right, taking a sweep. The log fell out form its spot, but it didn't hit the ground. She kicked it up, jumped, tapped it so it would go upright, clasped her hands as if she was praying and smacked the wood down. It had so much force, that it went back into position (and most likely would stay there). Falling down, she landed on the log before back flipping a meter or two away.

Now it was time to kick it up to full acceleration.

She ran (very fast, mind you) towards the log and stopped directly in front of it—the same distance she was when she had tapped the cylindrical piece of wood. It was then that she took it to full speed. Tidus' eyes widened, awestruck. Her punches were lightning fast that he could hardly see them, as were her kicks. She was very agile and graceful in her movements. Of course, this was coming from a person who took up kendo since he could walk. The only actual part he did saw was that final blow—a straight high kick that shattered the log into pieces.

Ivy was breathing hard, smirking at her achievement. That was the fastest one yet and she had still set a goal to get the last assault faster. Her right leg was still in the air, never moving from its position from the last blow. A few small drops of blood trickled down from it, coming out from the cuts that the wood made. Suddenly, her left leg gave way, making her lose her posture. She staggered back and soon fell back to the ground. Staring up at the clouds, she gave a tired sigh. Soon, a silhouetted head appeared in her vision.

"Gah!"

Quickly pushing herself back, she saw that it was Tidus. He smiled sheepishly

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you there."

She kept silent. Tidus thought, 'Well, maybe I should get her used to me; I mean I've been here more than enough and I've never seen her here, only in school. Hell, I didn't even know she was Nagato-sensei's kid!'

While he was busy thinking, Ivy took this as her chance to sneak away. But, he got out of his muse early and grabbed her wrist before she tried to make a run for it.

"Hey, c'mon. I just wanna talk to you for a bit; is that too much?" There was awkward silence, but she slowly turned around. He smiled

"That's better…Besides, I don't bite; nothing to be afraid of." The blonde said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. The look she gave him was pretty unreadable, but he could tell that she was still uncomfortable. Tidus sighed, "I guess not a lot of people talk to you, huh?"

She shrugged, her head slowly turning down to the side, "I'm used to it."

He blinked. She actually talked to him. Smiling, he ripped a piece of cloth from his shirt and made a make-shift bandage for her leg.

"Well, it's good that I know that you're not really mute." He said. When he was finished, he heard her mutter a 'Thanks.'

"Tidus? Everything okay out there?" The two turned their heads and saw Marluxia come out, "Jeanne, why don't you go inside and get your leg fixed up properly, okay?"

She nodded before complying. The elder man watched his child go before he turned to his apprentice, "So, what were you two doing?"

"Eh? Oh! Uh, I was kinda watching her train for a bit. And I tried to get her to talk to me. It was only five words, but it's a good start."

Marluxia was shocked. Ivy was very stubborn and would never have given in and talked to someone. But then again, she did say a few weeks ago that she would try and change herself a bit. So Tidus was right; it was a good start. Suddenly, a light bulb went off.

"I have an idea…"

"…?"

"Alright, Tidus." The man said in a slightly hushed voice, "This is going to be like a sort of…project."

"Project?" the blonde asked

Marluxia nodded, "Yes. And this'll be a…sort of win-win situation, you can say."

"Nagato-sensei, I'm afraid I'm not following you on this so far…"

"I mean to say that you can help Ivy…well, be more outgoing. It will give you experience in how to handle these types of situations with your future students. Also, it'll kind of help me with her…anti-sociality."

"Ah…I get it now…"

"So, up to the task?"

"Of course!"

"Oi!"

The two turned around to see Xigbar on the patio.

"Help us clean up, Mar; it's your apartment!"

Marluxia chuckled, "Coming, coming!"

TBC


End file.
